The skills of farming are being taught by our partner in Lotisan in north-eastern Uganda. Caritas Moroto deliver training in a farmer field school format. People come together in communal farms and learn skills. They learn what to grow, when is the best time of year to plant and what crops are more climate friendly than others.
Nangiro David is from a village in Lotisan. He says that the group has helped him to learn about farming. Before he started taking part in the farmer field school, he had “no knowledge” about farming.
Now, all his 11 children are involved and help him grow crops. His family eats the crops they grow and sell the excess at the market.
Farmer field school
This way of learning is helpful to people who take part. They come together to learn skills and share tips and tricks. Then they can put these skills into practice in their homes with their own plots of crops.
People learn how to grow crops, and which crops are more climate friendly, as access to water and drought is an issue in the area. Some crops that the farmers grow are cowpeas, eggplants and cabbage. There is usually about 30 people in the group and in most cases, there are more women than men.
By learning the skills of farming, people can make sure that the time and effort they put in will result in good harvests. With more food, people can make money from crops at the local market.
This work is part of the Irish Aid funded Irish Civil Society Partnership Programme grant.
